Arun Shourie is right and wrong: ‘Acche din' may not be here yet, but neither are ‘bure din’

By Arihant Panagariya

Public memory is short or its grasp of history is weak or may be both. Yes, “acche din” may not be here yet as promised by the Prime Minister but it’s also true that “bure din” as being projected are not here as well. If you spend hours on social media and waste a bit of time watching English news channels, you would certainly believe the hype that India as a country would soon turn into what its neighbour is.

There is growing intolerance in India, people say. Writers, scientists, actors have given up their awards given by the State of India to protest this intolerance as is their right under the Constitution of India. Many diligent Indians have spoken up on the issue and feel incidents in which “rationalists, people from minorities” have been targeted have legitimacy from the top leadership of the Government. The most significant attack on the government has come from its friend-turned-foe, Arun Shourie. The so called Indian Right Wing’s most influential writer has termed this government as “Congress + Cow”, the PMO as the “weakest” one we have had and even went on to say that “people have started missing Dr Manmohan Singh”.

For many vocal supporters of the government on social media, Shourie is now speaking up because he wasn’t given a Cabinet position and therefore he is disgruntled. While this may be unfair to Shourie, who before this attack on the Government was idolised and revered by the same set of people, it is also true that Shourie’s statements deserve greater scrutiny and not just outright rejection. Amidst all the noise, it is important to look at what he said and not why he said what he did.

So, has India really become intolerant as Shourie is making it out to be? No, the data produced and published by the Home Ministry suggests otherwise. From 2011-2013, the number of communal incidents in India rose from 580 to 823 and fell to 644 in 2014. The incidents of crime from 2009-2013 against Scheduled Castes rose from 33,412 to 39,408 and from 5,250 to 6,793 against Scheduled Tribes. But why did none of these writers and activists feel the need to return their awards then? If you feel all writers/activists are saints and apolitical, you are being delusional. India has had a serious law and order problem and it hasn’t got worse under this Government. Also, as Swami Aiyer has recently described in his column, the communal tension and violence today is much less than what it used to be over the past 25 years. Statistically, Shourie’s point on intolerance doesn’t stand and it does no good to his own credibility. Where he does get it right is that some members in the BJP may have been encouraged to do what they did and that doesn’t help the perception and the image of the NDA government or the PM himself.

Where he does get it absolutely right is in his assessment of the policies being followed by this government. And this is where the BJP should not ignore him. The huge mandate, the huge expectations haven’t been quite catered to and it is depressing that all we have been talking about is growing intolerance (which is a lie) and not a drastic change in economic policies (which is true). May be we should give it more time but only if this government had been pro-active from the beginning and acted on the mandate it was given, the media and the Opposition would not have got so much ammunition.

The Congress and others in the Opposition will behave the way that is expected of them, that is, not let Parliament work and accuse the government of being communal. And this is where the government can follow some of the free advice showered on them by Shourie. Right before the 2014 election when he had publicly stated how Modi is the right man for the top job, he had spoken of three important reforms.

One, he had asked the government to make a list of things that can be done without passing laws. There are things that you could do without worrying about Parliament, and the government should move fast on that. Secondly, there is a need to have a discussion with the judiciary, especially after the NJAC judgment. The government and the judiciary should act in the interests of the common man and not try to outdo each other in this game of thrones. Third, and most importantly, he mentioned that there needs to be a debate on the review of our beloved Constitution. Yes, it has been amended about 100 times over the last six decades, but it is also a testament to how it hasn’t kept pace with our social, political and economic goals. Our Constitution lays down the rules of the game, and as Rajesh Jain and Atanu Dey have recently argued, these rules of the game need to be changed. We need unrestricted freedom of speech, freedom without any discrimination based on caste and religion, and a fundamental right to property among others.

It is therefore an irony that the Congress Party is organising a conference to “develop an agenda for securing the cornerstone values laid down by Nehru” which includes sessions on freedom, equality, justice and democracy. Remember the first amendment, anyone?

Arihant Panagriya is a Delhi-based lawyer